Key Largo – This Is Why We Rushed Across the Country!

Remember when we said we had a reason for our rush across the southern United States? This trip is our why!

A year ago, some friends had booked their stay at John Pennecamp Coral Reef State Park campground and invited us and a few other families to join them. That’s probably the longest out we’ve ever made a reservation, and we couldn’t get the full two weeks they did, but we did score 8 nights without changing spots, which was a big deal since it’s a popular park.

Located on Key Largo, the first of the islands that make up the Keys, this state park has a lot to offer! The campground has full hook up sites, as well as a dump station, and several can accommodate large RVs like ours. They have laundry and bathhouses, and each site has lots of mature vegetation, so it can feel like your own little oasis, albeit a small one since they are close together.

The state park itself has tons of trails for walking, swimming and snorkeling areas (including a mock shipwreck), a boat ramp for launching your own boat, kayak or SUP, as well as rentals and boat tours. They also have educational nature walks, a small free aquarium, and guided boat tours for sightseeing or snorkeling. There is a multi-use trail that runs along the Overseas Highway just outside of the park, perfect for BJ’s daily runs.

Plus there are tons of birds, turtles, fish, sharks, stingrays, snakes, lizards, and iguanas to see. It is truly a tropical nature lover’s paradise! The downside is the no-see-ums and mosquitoes, but a good bug spray will keep them at bay–you’ll know it if you forget it (I recommend Avon’s Skin-So-Soft, especially if you don’t like deet, and they have a version with sunscreen for the best of both worlds)!

Our teenager opted to stay with grandpa for the week since he wouldn’t have anyone his age at the campground, so BJ and I got an early anniversary getaway.

We spent the week exploring the park, and the area, hanging out with friends, trying new restaurants (I didn’t find any that were very celiac friendly, gluten-free hasn’t made it’s way that far south yet, it seems), doing campground trash walks on a few days, and completing our SeRV monthly challenge of delivering baked goods to the local fire department. Since it was the holiday season, we even did a white elephant gift exchange one night, and we had a game night another.

It was a relaxing and fun week in one of our favorite areas, and we loved checking off our 5th island in the Keys that we’ve stayed on now (Key Largo, Key West/NAS Sigsbee, and Sunshine Key by RV, Marathon & Islamorada, and many trips to Key West, staying in hotels). This trip also made us realize that we would love to meet up with friends and camp together more often, so that is on our 2026 wish list.

Have you camped in the Keys before? What was your favorite island, or which is your dream island to visit?

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